Cazenovia preliminary town budget now available for public review

The preliminary Cazenovia town budget, which was publicly released by the town board last week, contains higher expenditures from last year, mainly due to increases in town benefits and retirement spending, and offers modest tax increases for town residents.

The budget contains few major changes from last year other than a proposed doubling of the salary for town supervisor, which was added to make the job more attractive for potential future candidates. Town Supervisor and Budget Officer Ralph Monforte also attempted to remove $125,000 in environmental funding from the budget — which has been used in previous years to fund chemical treatment of the lake, which he believes is not working — but the rest of the board replaced the funds.

These two issues caused Monforte to vote no on the approving the preliminary budget, although it did pass 4-1.

The preliminary town budget contains $2.9 in total expenditures with $1.23 million to be raised by tax (both numbers include the seven special districts in the town). All salaries are up 3 percent except supervisor which was doubled from $7,918 to $16,000; the town’s health care costs increased by 7 percent.

The town-wide (those who live in the village) tax rate is $1.298 per $1,000 of assessed value and the town-outside (those who live outside the village) tax rate is $1.42 per $1,000 of assessed value — so a house assessed at $100,000 will have a tax rate of approximately $130 or $142 for the year. This is an increase in taxes by approximately 14 and 8 cents per $1,000, respectively, from 2013.

The town’s 2013 budget was $2.85 million in total expenditures with $1.158 million raised by tax with a town-wide tax rate of 1.15 percent and a town-outside tax rate of 1.34 percent.

The preliminary budget is now available on the town website or can be viewed in person at the town offices. There will be a public hearing on the town budget at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 4.

Also at the meeting, the board:

—Unanimously approved a local law to override the state mandated tax levy limit. Such a local law has been done in past years and is recommended by the state, Monforte said. Having the local law does not mean a town will exceed the tax levy limit, but it means it may do so if necessary. Cazenovia has stayed within the 2 percent tax levy limit for the past three years, Monforte said.

—Authorized the town highway superintendent to contract with Madison County for the town to perform snow and ice removal on county roads at the same rates as 2012-13 of $16.84 per lane mile of snow and ice control and a loader rate of $120 per hour for snow bank removal.

—Authorized the town to contribute $15,000 to the SUNY Oneonta master’s degree program in lake management as part of an agreement to have a program student conduct a phosphorous study of Cazenovia Lake, the results of which will be made available to the town.

—Approved a local law to amend the town code to “establish independent penalties” for violations of town site plan review law. Monforte said the law would increase penalty fees from $375 per violation to $500 per violation and 10 days in jail. The amended law is hoped to be “more of a deterrent” for violations, Monforte said.

—Approved the seasonal closing — meaning no snow plow service — of Corkinsville Road from the Lordon residence to the town line.

—Approved the use of town roads for the Chilly Chili 5K Run/Walk, scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 26.

Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at editor@cazenoviarepublican.com.